


Skin Crawl

by CarryOnScreaming



Series: Skin Crawl [1]
Category: Skins (UK), The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-15
Updated: 2015-02-15
Packaged: 2018-03-13 02:13:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3363938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarryOnScreaming/pseuds/CarryOnScreaming
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Season One.<br/>Crossover between Skins UK and The Walking Dead set in the Walking Dead universe.</p>
<p>Kel Grimes and the Skins gang went to the U.S for a trip before Uni but when the dead started to rise they're glad that they stayed put in Georgia.</p>
<p>Originally on ff.net.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sound The Alarm

“Fuck”

“Shh Noams, it’s gonna be fine”  I whisper to the blonde beside me. I take her hand in my own as I look into her eyes to speak keeping my voice low, “I’m gonna check how many.”

She mouths “okay” in response. I lift my head up just enough to see over the counter we ducked behind. The small gas station is a complete mess, obviously been turned over a couple of times since the world ended. Broken shelving and whatever sock hasn’t been looted covers the floor and dust and chunks of plaster from where a light has fallen from the ceiling add to the mess. In amongst all of that though is the reason we’re behind the counter in the first place.

About three weeks ago the world went to shit, the dead decided they didn’t want to stay dead and so they walk the earth and eat the living and I know what you’re thinking “zombies!, you must be fucking crazy”, well those were my exact words when Shane told us, yet here we are, scouting for supplies and facing the stuff of nightmares.

I take in the surroundings while I see how many walkers there are, that’s what we call them thought it was better than the z word. I can see three of them, two by the door and one standing about a foot away with its back to the counter. Easy enough, we’ve faced far worse. I duck back down and turn to Naomi. I move closer to her to make as little noise as possible and lean in so can whisper in her ear “there’s two by the door I’ll get them and you get the lone one by the counter.”

She nods in agreement and makes her way around the counter with me right behind her. She stands up, quickly and quietly lifting her large hunting knife and slamming it into the lone walkers head with a sickening crunch. The sound of the walkers body hitting the floor is enough to alert my two, I run unto the first one shoving him into his buddy who stumbles onto the floor. I jam my own knife into the first walker’s skull then the second in quick succession. Taking my knife out of the now still and lifeless corpse I wipe the blood on its shirt and shove the knife back in the holder around my right calf. I walk back over to Naomi who throws me one of the rucksacks we brought with us.

“Remember and grab everything useful and not just booze okay Naoms” I laugh winking at her as I begin to fill the bag.

“Shut up Kel” she laughs while flipping me off “and no winking at me I’m taken remember”

“Awww naomikins, Ems is my best mate I’m sure she won’t mind.”

“You’ve been spending far too much time with cook” she turned to look at me “next you’ll be asking for a willy waggle” she said in her best impression of cook.

We both laugh as we fill our bags with whatever we can find as well as keeping an eye out for some requested items.

Coffee and cigarettes being the most requested along with some beer and vodka if possible and of course Freds being the stoner he is asked us to keep an eye out for any spliff.

A good twenty minutes of rummaging around and we have three bags full of supplies including all the things from our list apart from Freddie’s weed, poor boy he’ll be getting withdrawal.  

We head outside opening the sliding door of the van I adopted since the outbreak; we put the bags in the back and get in the front ourselves. We start to make our way back to camp with me driving and Naomi keeping watch for potential threats. Our camps on a clearing just above a quarry with a small lake, it’s a pretty beautiful place with fields leading down to the lake on one side, woodland and mountains on the other and only one dirt path leading from the road so it’s secluded. We’ve had no trouble at camp yet with people or walkers so it’s definitely doing its job.

The majority of the drive was made in comfortable silence, with Naomi’s eyes focussed out of her window and mine on the road. She nudged me when she spotted the path, I may have missed it on a previous run but shh. I turned up the dirt path driving to the camp. When the camp came into view I turned the van around and reversed into the space I’d taken it from earlier. I shut off the engine and climb out as Naomi does the same. I walk around to the sliding door at Naomi’s side just in time to see a flash of bright red hair before the pint sized Emily wraps both of us in to a bone crushing Fitch hug.

“Glad you’re both okay” she said in her husky voice before letting me go.

“Cheers Ems, but I might not be so okay if you’d hugged us any tighter” I laugh grabbing my side for dramatic effect.

“Oops, sorry” she replies blushing “I’ll try not to next time.”

“He’s just being a drama queen, I love your hugs Ems” Naomi says pulling her girlfriend into a kiss.

“Naoms I can handle this, you and Ems can bugger off if you want”

“Cheers Kel” she says winking at me “see you in a bit.”

I shake my head as the girls wander off while I open the door of the van and grab one of the bags before hearing an unmistakeable voice behind me.

“Nice one man” Shane bellows patting me on the back and taking the other two bags from the van, “should do more runs like this and maybe less to the city.”

“Glenn and his motley crew not back yet” I ask as we move the centre of camp.

“Nah man, not yet.”

Shane and I put the bags on one of the tables we’d set up. The centre of the camp’s made up of a fire pit surrounded by a small stone wall with a collection of mismatched camping chairs and three tables with benches. Surrounding our makeshift communal area is a series of tents where we all sleep along with Dale’s R.V, my van, Shane’s range rover, the Morales’s people carrier, Carol and Ed’s car and a motor cycle owned by Merle Dixon. He thankfully was one of the people that Glenn took to the city with him, Merles a foul mouthed redneck who doesn’t give a damn about anyone but himself and to a certain extant his younger brother Daryl.

The camp was a lot of members this afternoon but was still full of people as usual. I mean there are a lot of us so I understand why Shane insisted that Glenn take a group this time although he much prefers to do solo trips to Atlanta, he always says it’s less risky when he goes on his own and he’s probably right. This time however we needed more stuff than he could move on his own so he took Merle, Morales, Jackie, Andrea and T-Dog. I had offered to go with them but Shane mentioned a run to the gas station so I asked Naomi to join me. Emily hadn’t been to happy when I asked but she knew that we’d have each other’s backs  so in the end gave in.

I sat at the table while Shane sorted through our spoils and looked around the camp. Dale and Jim were working on the R.V. making sure it runs smooth in case of a quick getaway, Lori and Miranda were keeping an eye on the kids of our group and Amy, Effy and Katie were sitting around the fire pit talking. I assumed the rest of the group must be busy with odd jobs around the lake and woods. Shane was just finishing taking stock as Naomi and Emily sat down beside me giggling about something that obviously wasn’t intended for the group.

Shane looked at them with a raised eyebrow “wanna share with the rest of us ladies?”

“I’d rather not” Emily answered, her already husky voice hoarse from laughing.

Shane shook his head as we joined the laughing “hey blondie, you and Kel did a great job today” Shane confessed with a huge smile on his face “you pair definitely have my permission for future trips.”

“Thanks Shane” I say proudly.

“So got any jobs for us since we’re so brilliant” Naomi asks with a grin.

“You two can help me store this stuff” he pointed to Naomi and Emily “and Kel you can take these to the kids” he tossed me a bag of M&Ms “Carl missed you man.”

“Sweet, no problem.”

 I head over to Lori, Miranda and the kids while the others go about their business, Lori turns to smile at me when she sees me coming.

“Hey stranger, what you got there” she asked with a wide smile across her features.

“M&M’s for the kids” I smile back at her “apparently Carl missed me.”

“He always does, he worries about his cousin coming home safe.”

Lori married my dad’s brother Rick thirteen years ago and twelve years ago they had Carl. This past month has been most difficult on Lori and Carl and not just because of the walkers and fight for survival but because a week before all of this happened a tragedy struck out family.

My mum and dad moved to Bristol when I was eleven and we lived there since. I had come over to America with my friends from college before Uni started so we could spend some time together before parting ways for what would probably be months on end. I’d suggested starting in Georgia so I could visit my family before we ventured into the unknown, so Cook, JJ, Freddie, Effy, Katie, Emily, Naomi and I took off. Once we had landed I checked my phone to a distressed voicemail from Lori saying Rick had been shot on the job. He was a police officer at the King County Sheriff’s Department. He and Shane had been in a pursuit involving a car with were thought to be three armed men who were taken out without any issues but there was a fourth man that no one had seen who shot Rick in the back. We headed straight for the Grimes household and ended up delaying going anywhere else for a couple of weeks to help Lori out and keep Carl occupied. We were glad we hadn’t ventured out when Shane came to the door and explained that the dead were up and walking around, Lori had been reluctant to leave Rick and that’s when Shane told us the hospitals power went out when he was there and Ricks heart stopped.

Even with all that tragedy having happened in such a short space of time she still managed to smile large, genuine smiles at the people who helped her through.

Carl came running over when he saw me.

“Kel!” he yelled smiling from ear to ear, his blue eyes shining and his scruffy brown hair flopping around “got anything for me?”

“Sure do buddy” I laugh throwing the sweets to him “remember and share.”

“Of course, I'm not that mean” he laughs running back to the other kids.

I smile to myself for a moment before hearing a car alarm coming from the road.

“Shit” I move toward the top of the dirt path “Shane it’s getting louder!”


	2. Maybe Not So Dead After All

** Kel’s pov **

The noise was growing louder and whoever was making it was getting closer.

Shane threw me one of the two shotguns we had and we stood at the top of the road, if it was an unwanted guest wouldn’t get past. I had become quite a good shot, Shane had done some training with Cook, Naomi and me, and limited ammo meant only a few students. Aside from the two shotguns we had three hunting rifles and four handguns and Andrea has her own, of course we have knifes and Daryl has a crossbow but for such a large camp we’re pretty badly armed, especially if we come under attack by large numbers.

The sound grew louder still as I saw a flash of red turn the corner and a sports car drove towards us, stopping just in front of Shane and me. The driver side door opened and Glenn stepped out smiling, a giant goofy grin covered his face as Shane ran toward him.

“Turn it off!” he yelled over the still beeping car.

“I dunno how!” Glenn replied still grinning.

“Hurry, pop the hood!”

Glenn stuck his head back in the car poking around for a minute till the hood popped up. I ran over and held the hood up so Shane could look, He pulled out a wire and the noise was gone. I slammed the hood hut again and turned to Glenn and pulled him into a hug, as his return sparked the interest of the others.

“What do you think you’re doing” Shane asked angrily as I let go of Glenn “every walker for miles around would’a heard that.”

“Sorry” Glenn’s smile fading “I got to drive a cool car though.”

“We shouldn’t have any trouble” Dale interrupted “the sound will bounce around these mountains making it hard to pin point.”

“Fine” Shane scoffed still not fully convinced “where are the others?”

“We got into some trouble” Glenn began, everyone’s faces dropped and I could see tears starting to form in Amy’s eyes “but there alive” he quickly added when he saw everyone’s faces “the new guy helped us a lot.”

“What new guy?” I asked my confusion mirrored by the others.

Before he had a chance to answer a van came up behind Glenn’s sports car and parked. Jackie and T-Dog got out to a chorus of “welcome Back” and “glad you’re safe.” Andrea ran to Amy and hugged her sister as tightly as she could, Morales came from behind the van as his wife and kids ran to meet him. I smiled at the unfolding scenes when I turn to see the rest of the group smiling and hugging each other. My eyes land on Carl, his eyes are red with tears streaming down his face, god I hate seeing him like this. Lori tried to wrap her arms around him in comfort when his eyes went wide and a look of complete shock and overwhelming excitement covered his face.

“Dad” he screamed as he moved from his mother and ran past me.

I turned around to see him run into Rick’s arms.

Wait, Rick is supposed to be dead, but he isn’t dead, shut up brain. I regained my thoughts to see that Lori had joined them with the rest of the group cheering. Lori motioned for me to join them. I walked over to where they huddled on the ground; I dropped to my knees wrapping my arms around the man I never thought I’d see again. We stayed like this for a minute till someone coughed; we looked up and saw Shane standing, tears in his eyes. Rick stood and walked to him, he stood for a moment before pulling him into a hug.

“Thank you” Rick said, struggling to hold back tears of his own “thank you for keeping them safe.”

“I’m so sorry man” Shane finally managed to speak “I thought you died man, your heart stopped, I checked.”

“That’s in the past now” Rick pulled away from the hug to look in his eyes “we’re all together again and we’re safe, that’s all that matters.”

Still on the floor sitting with my arm around Carl I notice something that the rest of the group doesn’t seem to have noticed yet. “Hey guys?” I ask my curiosity taking the lead “where’s Merle?”

** Emily’s pov **

As soon as Kel asked my eyes flitted around the camp and sure enough the foul mouthed redneck was nowhere to be seen. Not that I cared mind you, Merle had been a complete ass to me for the whole of the short time I’d known him. He’d always make disgusting remarks about me and Naomi or make crude propositions to me and other women in the camp but after a harsh word from Kel, Cook and Shane he backed off from me a little. I was still interested in hearing what happened though.

“He’s handcuffed to the roof of a mall” T-Dog broke the silence.

“I handcuffed him when he was going off on one shooting up the place like a mad man” Rick interrupted.

“Yeah but I dropped the key” T-Dog sighed.

“Ha ha ha, magic” Cook bellowed appearing from the woods with Freddie and JJ behind him all carrying wood.

“Best place for the pervy bastard” Katie scoffed.

I rolled my eyes, while I agree with my twin she could have put it better and with less swearing in front of the kids. I could tell Lori agreed with me because she was glaring at Katie with obvious disliking.

“While I agree with you” Kel started trying to move on from the situation “what are we going to tell Daryl?”

“Tell him he died” Shane replied “he can’t argue if he’s dead.”  
“But I chained the door on that roof” T-Dog interrupted “so he’s stuck up there, but he sure as hell ain’t dead.”  
“Then we tell him the truth” Rick said taking charge “it was my fault, I’ll take the rap but he needs to know.”

Probably not the best idea but who am I to argue with a couple of police officers in a foreign country during the end of the world, nobody who’s opinion is going to matter, that’s who.  Most of the group have moved off into separate smaller groups leaving me standing with Naomi and Katie. I take Nomi’s hand in my own and smile at her, with all the craziness going on I’m glad I have her. Don’t get me wrong I’m so grateful to have Katie and Kel be alive as well I mean three of the people I care about most in the world are safe and here with me but more than anything I always feel safer with Naomi by my side.

The hour since Rick got here passed fairly quickly with him being introduced to everyone and everyone generally being in high spirits. I sat at the fire pit with Katie and Naomi as we boiled water from the lake to clean it before filling up bottles and canteens. We work while chatting about nothing in particular when I see Kel walking over from the corner of my eye trying to hide the smirk he has on his face.

“What do you look so happy about?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

“Well since Rick is here we’ve had to rearrange some of the sleeping arrangements.”

“Okay” still not sure what’s going on “and you’ve come to tell me this why?”

“Well Rick’s going to be sharing with Lori and Carl obviously so Shane’s homeless so he’s going to be sharing our tent with me which means I have a surprise for you three.”

With that the smirk spread right across his features as he beckoned for us to follow him. Kel, Katie, Naomi and I opted to share a tent since there weren’t a lot of options when we first claimed our camp. I hadn’t wanted to be separated from Naomi and Katie didn’t want to be apart from me and Kel had offered to stay with us since he already knew how to use the hand gun Shane had given him and until one of us was trained he felt better knowing that we were all safe, since Cook knew how to use one as well he stayed with JJ, Freddie and Effy in another tent. It was a little cramped at times and was almost impossible for Naomi and me to get some alone time but I liked having them all so close. We followed Kel to his van and stopped behind him when he turned with a huge smile on his face.

“Ladies” he began opening the sliding door “I thought you’d like this and I feel much better knowing you’re safe.”

I moved and looked through the now open door; there was a large makeshift bed made out of our sleeping bags and some spare pillows and blankets, he’d even taken our stuff from the tent and placed it at the back of the van. I turned to look at him with surprise evident in my features, I pulled him into a tight hug.

“Thank you so much” I said letting go of him “you didn’t have to do this you know.”

  
“I’d worry otherwise” he replied nonchalantly “go on, get in there and sort your stuff out, Cook and me will finish up with the water.”

 With that he turned to walk back to camp but stopped a few feet away.

“Almost forgot” he said as he threw the key at me “lock it when you’re sleeping, just in case.”

He wandered back off into the centre of camp to help Cook and I turned to Katie and Naomi who were already in the van looking around, I smiled, thinking to myself for a moment, my best friend might just be one of the nicest people left on the planet, I went and joined my two bunkmates knowing I’d be sleeping safely from now on, which is a huge relief but a part of me was sad that Kel wouldn’t be joining us.


	3. Alone Time

** Kel’s pov **

I walked back to the fire bit smiling like an idiot and feeling pleased with myself that they like the surprise, I mean I knew they would it was just nice to see the smiles on their faces. I take a seat beside Cook and JJ who appear to have taken the water off to cool already.

“How’d the girls like it” Cook asked throwing me a few bottles.

“Loved it” I smiled at him “it’s the best idea I’ve ever had to be honest, don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.”

“Cus’ you liked having ‘em close, made you feel better right?”

“Since when did you become all knowing?” I asked playfully “thought that was Effy’s thing.”

“Well the Cookie monster knows a thing or two” he laughed and winked at me.

“Actually Cook it’s not uncommon for people to have knowledge in several different subjects and having spent quite a large amount of time in close proximity to each other learning things about one another happens subconsciously” JJ explained.

“Cheers Jay” Cook laughed.

We filled all the empty Bottles we’d been given and set about the task of giving them out. JJ decided to go with Cook since he’s still pretty nervous around some of the campers but I’ve never been bothered about doing chores solo. I grab six bottle and head to the van having to use my head to knock on the door. I can hear movement before the door is opened half way by Naomi looking less than happy at being disturbed which means I must have interrupted her and Emily.

“What?” she asks raising her eyebrows at me.

“Just delivering water, why? Not interrupting am I” I raise my eyebrows back at her.

“You know you are” I hear Emily laughing from behind her.

“Sorry Naoms, what did you do to get Katie out of the way?” I ask as she starts taking the bottles from me and throwing them into the van.

“Persuaded her to go spend time with Effy.”

“And?”

“And gave her a half bottle of vodka I was saving” she huffed.

“Wow, you must really be gagging for it Naoms” I laugh as she hits me.

“You done yet? Cus’ incase you haven’t noticed there’s a gorgeous redhead waiting for me.”

“Yeah I’m done” I wink at her “have fun and you as well Ems” I shout to her.

“Cheers Kel” I hear her muffled voice from inside.

With that Naomi shuts the door and I walk off to grabbing more bottles throwing a couple into mine and Shane’s tent before heading to Lori and Ricks. The flaps open and I see Rick inside with Carl telling him about what’s been going on the past month, I clear my throat to announce my arrival, Carl jumps up when he says it’s me.

“Hey Buddy, got water for you guys here” I say piling them in the corner “you guys alright?”

“Yeah was telling dad about what’s been going on” Carl smiles.

“He told me you and your friends were meant to be on holiday but stayed to help him and Lori, than you Kel” Rick sais looking straight into my eyes “really I owe you guys and Shane everything for keeping them safe.”

“Don’t worry about it Rick” I say as I go and pull him into a hug “that’s what family’s for right?” I step back and smile “I’m gonna go finish up some chores and give you two father and son time.”

“Thanks Kel” Carl hugs me before I leave.

The rest of the day was spent doing small jobs around camp and plenty of banter with Cook and everyone else. When Naomi and Emily had surfaced from their alone time Cook managed as usual to point most of his playful jibes their way, not that they cared anymore, I mean it was Cook and not somebody who would actually do anything to them, in fact it’s probably hard to believe that laddish hard man James Cook was really a softy deep down and fiercely loyal which makes him very protective of his family and friends and we pretty much consider each other family at this point.

Once it was dark we sat around the fire eating dinner which consisted of boiled rice and some tinned vegetables. It was a little bland and I was dying for a steak but I was grateful all the same since Morales and Miranda had taken it upon them to cook most of the time. It was a good night with the conversation flowing easily and everyone just enjoying each other’s company the only hiccup seemed to be when Ed decided he was cold and added more logs to the fire. We keep the flames low for a reason we don’t want the fire to draw attention since we’re so badly armed. At least he sulked of to his tent when Shane told him off although he dragged Carol and Sophia off with him. I hate that man so much, he doesn’t deserve them, Carol and Sophia are two of the most lovely human beings I have ever met and it’s clear that he doesn’t treat them right. And honestly it’s not just me that sees it, Shane, Cook and Effy noticed it the first night as well, there have been times where we’ve huddled in a corner and plotted to get rid of him but we decided that since Carol hadn’t said anything that we couldn’t really do much. That doesn’t mean to say that if he were to be attacked by a walker that I would protect him and certainly not if someone else was in trouble.

A couple of hours later and almost everyone had gone off to bed leaving me, Effy, Katie, Cook and Freddie sat around slowly dying fire. We’d taken to drinking the half bottle of vodka Katie got from Naomi earlier since she decided to give them some more time to themselves.

“So Katie what’s up with you today?” I ask taking a swig from the bottle and passing it to Freddie.

“Nothing, why?” she asked looking puzzled.

“Cus’ you’ve been giving Blondie and Red alone time all day” Cook answers in an amused voice “not like you to be so nice to our lezzas Katiekins.”

“Well I did get half a bottle of vodka out of it” she says smugly “but mainly cus’ if I leave them alone to do it then there’s less chance of them fucking while I’m trying to sleep.”

Cook and Freddie erupt in laughter “nice one Katiekins” Cook says “we can always swap if you like” he waggles his eyebrows at her.

“Bugger off Cook” she says throwing the now empty vodka bottle at him making him laugh harder.

“I’m gonna head to bed and leave you two to argue the night away” I say standing up “see you in the morning.”

“Night” they all say in succession.

I wander over to my tent and climb in trying not to disturb Shane, throwing my shoes, hoodie and jeans to the foot of my sleeping bag and place my knife and gun holsters beside my pillow just in case like I do every night. I sigh already missing having the three people I’m used to sharing with, oh well Shane snores a little but he’s not that bad and they’re safe which is the main thing, I close my eyes and drift into sleep awaiting what the next day holds.


	4. Hide and Seek Yeah?

** Naomi’s pov **

I love waking up next to Emily; she’s probably the only thing that keeps me sane these days. The rest of the gang are great but Emily is my world and I’ll do everything in my power to keep her safe, luckily for me both Katie and Kel love her just as much as I do, in different ways of course.

I’m currently lying with my back pressed against the door and Emily curled into my front and Katie issprawled out on Emily’s other side. I seriously need to talk to Kel about getting Katie a tent to share with Effy, I mean of course I’m happy that she’s alright and everything but she doesn’t half take up a lot of space.

I should probably get up. I manage to wriggle away from Emily and climb into the front seat without waking either her or Katie. I grab my shoes from the passenger side floor and hop out of the van, closing the door as quietly as possible, the last thing anyone needs is a grumpy Katie Fitch. I must have woken up later than I thought, pretty much everyone is awake. I walk over to the table where Cook and Kel are playing cards with Carl and Sophia.

“Morning sleeping beauty” Kel shouts when he sees me “where are the twins?”

“Still asleep” I reply sitting beside him “what’s the plan for today?”

“Better asking the coppers than us” Cook replies “doubt we’ll get much of a say anymore.”

“Probably not, Rick and Shane will probably end up taking charge” Kel agreed “although I would hope the fact that us three have been doing as much as Shane to run this place and keep it safe will count for something.”

“My dad’s not an idiot Kel” Carl starts as he shuffles his cards “he knows you’ve done a lot, I told him all about it yesterday” he turns to smile at me “I told him about you guys too.”

“Thanks little man” I smile at him, Carls a pretty great kid. He’s kind of like Kel, they’re both sweethearts.

I hear the door of the van slide open and see Emily and Katie get out and wonder towards us.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Emily asks as she sits on my lap.

“Thought you could do with the rest” I pecked her on the lips and giggle hearing Carl and Sophia go ‘ewwww’ in the background.

“Well just for that you can spend the day with someone else” she says pouting playfully “I’m kidnapping Kel for a little bit.”

“You are?” he asks with his eyebrows raised.

“Yep, we’re going down to the lake.”

“Sweet, let’s go Fitch” he says standing and picking her up “we’ll see you guys later” he winks at me and runs off with Emily waving at me from over his shoulder.

“Those two are more like kids than you two” I say pointing at Carl and Sophia.

“Come on, I’m bored now” Cook declares standing up “hide and seek yeah, not too far in the woods though” he laughs “Katiekins can count first” he winks at her.

“Fine” she huffs. She loves the kids really she just doesn’t like to admit it.

“Great” Cook bellows “let’s go Naomikins.” He slaps me on the back and we’re soon running off after the kids.

I look around finding a good tree to duck behind when I hear Sophia scream. I immediately run straight towards the sound and find her and Carl staring at a walker eating a deer. Shit. It turns around at the sound and starts towards me; I go to reach for my knife when I remember I didn’t grab it before leaving the van. Double shit. Looks like I’ll have to just chance my luck and charge at it. I ready myself to charge when Cook jumps out of nowhere, knife in hand and lands on the walker sending his blade through its skull with a disgusting squelch.

“Bloody hell” he says standing up “that fuckers a bit close ain’t he.”

“What’s going on?” Rick asks as he comes running up behind us with Dale and Jim.

Before we can answer a rustling sound comes from just ahead. Cook sheathes his knife and raises his gun as Rick does the same. I’m still unarmed having forgotten my gun along with my knife so to make myself useful I pull Carl and Sophia behind me to act as a human shield. About a second later none other than Daryl Dixon emerges from the bush.

“What the fuck” he shouts “that was my deer.”

“Calm down son” Dale tries to calm him down not that it’s working. Shit he’s going to go mental when he finds out about Merle.

“What do you know about it old man?” he replies squaring up to Dale “why don’t you take that hat and go back to ‘On Golden Pond’.” Daryl walked back over to the deer “reckon we can cut around this chewed up part?”

“I would not risk that man” Cook said with disgust plastered all over his face.

“Well that’s a damn shame” Daryl said finally admitting defeat over the deer “got about a dozen squirrels that’ll have to do.”

We made our way back to camp with Daryl in front.

“Merle” Daryl called out “hey Merle, get your lazy ass out here, got us some squirrel” he dropped the squirrels by the fire pit “gon’ stew ‘em up.”

“Hey man I need to talk to you” Shane came up having heard the commotion.

“Bout’ what?” Daryl asked looking deflated.

“Merle.”

“He dead?”

“We don’t know.”

I could see Daryl getting angry now and believe me you do not want to be the person he explodes at.

“Well he either is or he ain’t” he shouted getting himself more wound up “where is he?”

“Handcuffed to a roof in Atlanta” Rick stepped in.

“Just let me process this” Daryl started to pace back and forth “you left my brother handcuffed to a roof!”

Fuck. Daryl went at Rick with his knife out. Luckily Shane was behind Daryl, he twisted the knife from his hand and pinned him to the ground. Rick got down on the ground and looked straight into Daryl’s eyes.

“I would like to have a calm discussion about this.”

“What’s there to discuss” Daryl spat back “just tell me where he is so I can go find him.”

“He’ll show you” Lori piped up.

Rick looked from Lori to Daryl and Shane before replying. “Yeah, I will.”

 

 

 


	5. Dunno, The Label Fell Off

**Emily’s pov**

This was such a good idea. It’s been a long time since Kel and me were able to just hangout like best friends or just teenagers in general. I’d had the idea last night before I went to sleep. Katie had been abnormally nice and let Naomi and I have a lot of time together, I know about the vodka Naomi bribed her with but she left us alone again for a while at night too. So I was absolutely knackered when I finally lay my head down to sleep. I was thinking about how I had spent so much time with Naomi and how nice it was considering her, Cook and Kel helped Shane run this place having so much time to just be together was a rare occurrence. From that my mind then went to how little time I spent with Kel and I got a little sad. Kel’s been my best friend since we were eleven when he moved to Bristol from Georgia. I remember in the beginning of our friendship that he’d ask me to tell him about English things that he didn’t understand and in exchange he’d tell me about his life in America. I was fascinated and he promised he’d take me one day so when we all planned to come to the U.S.A before Uni I was more than excited.

Then once we got here Kel found out about his uncle Rick and we stayed to support Lori and Carl. It was a no brainer for us to stay, Kel is a part of our little ragtag family so what’s important to him is important to us. We’d do the same for any of us. Even with all the stuff going on with Rick he managed to take me out on my own so we could spend time just us. He took me to the house he grew up in and showed me the play park where he broke his arm at nine years old because he got into a fight with an older kid who called a boy a fag. I felt so proud when he told me that, he stuck up for me so many times that I lost count a long time ago.

Of course our good time in America didn’t last for long because the world turned to shit. Since then I’ve found myself doing mundane chores around camp while two of the people I love most in the world have been off doing the dangerous stuff. Sometimes I find myself feeling jealous but quickly shake that thought from my mind because I know that one day they might not come back and that’s nothing to be jealous of.

Right now none of that other stuff matters though.

I’m currently lying with my head on Kel’s stomach down on the shore of the lake. It’s nice and peaceful with the occasional sounds of splashing water from where Freddie and JJ are fishing on the lake. I glance at Kel’s face, he’s lying with his eyes closed using his hoodie as a pillow, his fading dyed black hair flopped half over his face and his lips pulled into a smile.

“What you looking at Fitch?” he asks raising his eyebrow and opening his eyes revealing the familiar bright green colour.

“Dunno” I reply turning my head back to the lake “the label fell off.”

He erupts into laughter and I can feel my head bouncing on his stomach.

“Good one Ems.”

The sound of tyres on gravel makes us both sit up as Carol and Ed’s car parks a couple of metres away. Jackie, Amy, Andrea and Carol get out of the car and grab baskets of laundry from the boot while Ed leans against the car smoking a cigarette.

“Do you two want to give us a hand with all this” Andrea asks as she sets her basket down beside us.

“We got a lot to do today” Jackie added as she did the same.

“Of course” Kel said getting up “just tell me to do something and I will” he smiled widely at the four women.

“Same for me” I agreed.

Neither of us are work shy. We both had part time jobs at my dad’s gym before all this and believe me Rob Fitch doesn’t like lazy people so there was no room for slacking off. Sometimes I wonder if he, mum and James are still alive. I have to believe they are to keep hope alive. One day I’ll find them and I know that that day is probably a long way off but I have to still believe that it’ll happen.

We start working on the laundry. God Jackie wasn’t lying when she said we had a lot and I could tell everyone else was thinking the same while we made casual conversation.

Carol sighed “I do miss my Maytag.”

“I miss my Benz” Andrea added “my sat nav.”

“I miss my coffee maker” Jackie said with a dreamy look in her eyes “with that dual-tip filter and built in grinder honey.”

“My computer” Amy chimed in “and texting.”

“God, I miss my computer too” Kel sighed “and my les paul” he added with a sad look in his eyes “was a wine red 50’s tribute” he sighed again “such a beautiful guitar.”

I gave him a pat on the shoulder and we were all quiet for a second until Andrea broke the silence.

“I miss my vibrator” we all erupted with laughter.

Carol took a quick look over her shoulder at Ed before adding “me too.”

We laughed harder and harder with Kel shaking his head.

“What’s so funny?” Ed’s voice came from behind us as he sauntered over interrupting our fun.

“Just swapping war stories Ed” Andrea snickered.

Ed hovered behind us watching us work. He gives me the damn creeps I was about to get up and say something but Andrea beat me to it.

“Problem Ed?” she asked getting to her feet.

“Nothing that concerns you” he sneered at her while still lingering behind us.

Andrea picked up one of Ed’s shirts “you know what Ed, if you don’t like how your laundry’s done” she threw the shirt at him “do it yourself.”

He threw the shirt back at her with such force that you heard it hit her causing Kel to stand up and step between them.

“Ain’t my job missy.”

“What exactly is your job Ed?” Andrea asked over Kel “sitting on your ass smoking cigarettes?”

“Well it sure ain’t listening to some uppity smart mouth bitch” he shot back at her.

“Shut the fuck up Ed” Kel said intervening “I won’t tell you again about respecting fellow camp members.”

“I also don’t need to listen to some punk kid” Ed glared at Kel “come on” he said looking at Carol “we’re leaving.”

“Carol” I put my hand on her shoulder when I saw tears forming in her eyes.

“I said come on” Ed shouted.

“I don’t think she needs to go anywhere with you” Andrea shot back.

“Yeah, and I said it’s none of your damn business” he tried to move around Kel to look Andrea straight in the eye “don’t think I won’t knock you on your ass just cus’ your some college educated cooze” he turned to face Carol again “now I said come on!” he yelled more aggressively.

“So she can show up with fresh bruises later Ed?” Jackie asked as the tension around us built, “yeah, we’ve seen them.”

“If she doesn’t want to do something you have no right to force her” I chimed in with disgust in my voice.

“You know what this ain’t none of yalls business” Ed yelled “especially not some dykes” he spat in my face “now I said come on” he grabbed Carols arm and pulled her towards him. At this point Kel was more thank sick of Ed’s bullshit. He grabbed Carols other hand and asked her if she wanted to go or not. She muttered some along the lines of ‘it’s no use’ under her breathe.

Ed must’ve heard. He slapped her across the face yelling “you don’t tell me what! I tell you what!”

Kel jumped on Ed punching him in the face while Andrea and Jackie held Carol. Kel and Ed were wrestling on the floor throwing punches and swear words left and right. Ed managed to use his weight to his advantage; he got on top of Kel and kneed him in the balls. I saw red, no one hurts someone I care about and gets away with it. I jumped on Ed’s back wrapping my arms tight around his neck. I heard boots on gravel fast approaching and lost my balance as Ed flung me off him. I turned my head in time to see Shane dragging him off and punching him in the face several times.

Shane kept beating him and I saw blood on Ed’s face.

“Shane stop” Amy yelled “that’s enough.”

Carols crying filled the space around us. Shane stopped beating Ed and lifted him up by his collar.

“I see you lay a hand on your wife, your little girl or anyone else in camp again” he spat in Ed’s face venom pouring from every word “and I will not stop next time” he shook Ed “do you hear me?” he yelled.

“Yes” Ed quietly spluttered out of his blood filled mouth.

“Shane dropped him back to the ground “I’ll beat ya to death Ed” he stood up and punched him one last time before walking off.

Andrea and Jackie let go of a still sobbing Carol who ran up to her husband. I watched them for a minute and hoped she’d be okay before moving over to Kel still curled in a ball on the floor. At least the beginning of the day was good and we got some time together I just wish it had ended a little better.


	6. We Can't Stay Here

**Kel’s pov**

“Fan-fucking-tastic” I sighed.

“He’s bringing back a bag of guns and he had to go get a radio from the bag alright, he ain’t just doing this to clear his conscience of Merle Dixon” Shane explained.

“Well there’s nothing I can do about it now” I shrugged “but really all four of ‘em had to go.”

“Hey I asked the same thing but you know Rick.”

“Maybe we should have two people up on the R.V then” I mused “one walker so close to camp can only mean more of ‘em.”

“I agree man” he looked around “Dale can handle that for a bit but we’ll need two to take over for dinner.”

“Kel and I will do it” Emily piped up from beside me “he’s taught me enough to be confidant with the rifle at least.”

“You sure” I asked her “cus’ I’m sure Cook wouldn’t mind.”

“I’m sure” she replied nodding her head “I want to be more useful.”

“Alright Red” Shane nodded “just don’t shoot any of us and you’ll be top notch, I’ll go let Dale know, you’ll be up in like an hour.”

Shane walked off to go see Dale while we moved over to the table where JJ, Freddie, Amy and Andrea were gutting the fish they caught earlier. After all the commotion with Ed, Freddie and JJ came back to shore to see what happened, they managed to catch about ten fish so Amy and Andrea went out to escape for a while and came back with just over a dozen. I’m telling you I have never been so happy to have the smell of raw fish fill the air.

“Hey Freds, where are Naoms and Cook?” I asked as he finished gutting his third fish.

“Firewood, since we’re missing four people” he paused to grab another fish “think Effy and Katie are with them.”

“Katie collecting firewood” I was sure I was in shock Katie has never been one for physical labour.

“I dunno if she’s actually helping” Freddie added.

“Probably not” Emily laughed.

“Fuck we better go get cleaned up Ems” I nodded to my tent since with both managed to get splashed with salt water and fish guts “you can grab one of my shirts, no point in getting the van dirty and I’m sure Katie would hate to sleep with the fish smell.”

 She nodded and followed me to mine and Shane’s tent. I took off my shirt and wiped specs of fish blood from my hands with it before handing it to Emily so she could do the same; I mean it’s fucking ruined anyway. I rake through my bag finding an old A Day to Remember shirt, I throw that and a black hoody to Emily before grabbing a black and white checked button up for myself. We changed quickly before heading back out and over to the R.V, I made a detour on the way over throwing my bloody shirt to Freddie for his hands.

“Cheers” he laughed as he caught it.

“No problem Freds” I winked at him.

“Do you two want some privacy” Amy asked with a smirk on her face.

“Nah, me and Freds are open about our love” I replied with a laugh.

“Have fun on watch babes” Freddie called to me when I made my way to the RV.

“Always darling” I replied with another wink earning a laugh from everyone in hearing distance.

I climbed up onto the RV where Emily was already sat in Dale’s deck chair, rifle in hand, I sat cross legged by her feet and grabbed the other rifle checking the safety was off. Emily’s always been great company and she made what would normally be a pretty boring job bearable. We kept a close eye on the tree line while still having a laugh. I think we really needed the time we spent earlier; it’s been difficult to just hang out since all this happened and I know we both miss just sitting talking about nothing, sometimes smoking a joint and pretending the world doesn’t exist.

Nightfall came fairly quickly, the smell of fish cooking filling the air. Cook and the others got back a while ago and were sat around the fire pit eating, I noticed that Ed was nowhere to be seen but Carol and Sophia were sat beside Lori and Carl, I smiled at the sight, maybe she’s finally stood up to him. Amy got up walking towards the RV.

“Where you going?” Andrea asked her sister.

“To the bathroom” Amy huffed “try to have a little privacy around here.”

The whole group laughed, it’s good to hear everyone laugh, keeps spirit alive in my opinion and god knows our little mismatched rough around the edges family could do with it. I heard the RV door open again and looked over the edge.

“There’s no toilet paper” Amy sighed.

That’s when I saw it. A walker came from behind the RV and went for Amy but I was quicker than it though. I dropped from the roof and landed on it, smashing it’s skull in with the butt of the rifle. Amy looked like she was going to pass out when there was a scream from over by the tents that made the whole group get to their feet. Walkers started coming from the woods and by the dirt path.

“Shit!” I threw the rifle to Dale while I pulled out my sidearm.

Soon there were gunshots all around. Everyone who was armed was taking out the oncoming walkers. One was getting a little too close to Effy before Freddie swung a hatchet through its head. I moved to the front of the group where Shane and Cook were keeping off the worst of them, I only noticed the stray walker lunging at me because it’s head practically exploded as it did, I turned to see Emily lying on the roof of the RV covering us. I knew there was a reason we went paint balling a lot as kids. We’d pretty much cleared every walker in sight when an arrow flew into a stragglers head. Rick, Daryl, Glenn and T-Dog came running from the dirt path and took out the few remaining walkers. I let go a sigh of relief, at least they’re safe, still no Merle but I couldn’t care less about his stupid ass. I turned around to look at the group most of whom appeared to be in shock.

“We can’t stay here” I said more to myself than anyone else.

I felt a hand on my shoulder; I didn’t need to turn to see who it was “I agree” came the husky voice of my best friend.

 For a day that started out great it didn’t half turn to shit. I let out a sigh and walked over to where Shane and Rick were taking, this was going to be a long night.

 


	7. Does This Look Infected?

**Naomi’s pov**

I feel like shit, I haven’t slept tonight because I’ve been too busy helping deal with all the corpses around camp. We only suffered one casualty though, Ed. I think it’s fair to say that no one is that upset he’s dead, well of course Carol and Sophia and a bit cut up right now but in the long run they’ll be better off without him in their lives.

So here I am, Freddie and I have the honour of stabbing every corpse in sight just to make sure that they’re dead while the rest of the guys around camp gather them up to burn. Shane and Rick are mainly overseeing of course, being the bosses they think they are I’m pretty sure that’s why they still dress like cops so they can be in charge. I’m past caring right now anyway, they tried to tell me I’d be better sitting it out with the other woman but that just made me more determined not to.  I’m pretty surprised that Emily listened to them although Katie was a bit shaken up which is probably how Kel persuaded her to go sleep in the van with Katie and Effy.

“I’d love a cold beer right now” Freddie piped up while stretching his arms “thirsty work.”

“Me too” I sighed heavily “we could have some warm vodka but I feel like that wouldn’t be the best idea.”

He laughed lightly “probably not.”

“He’s got a bite!” I heard Jackie yell from over by the RV.

I turned to see Jim holding his hands up in surrender while repeating the words “I’m okay” over and over. Shit, that was the only thing running through my mind. I’ve never really had a conversation with Jim but someone in our group getting bit fucking sucks. Me and Freddie both stopped what we were doing and are just standing, watching while Rick and Daryl argue. I’m more than happy not to get involved, far too much testosterone over there for my liking. I turn to go back to work but stop as I see Daryl lunge at Jim with a pickaxe. Fuck it, I think before making my way over, someone has to be a fucking grown up around here.

“We don’t kill the living” I hear Rick say as I get closer.

“Funny coming from a man pointin’ a gun at my head” Daryl retorts dropping the pickaxe.

Rick lowers his gun and rubs his temple before speaking “I think we should go to the CDC.”

“Hey man we all agree with Kel that we should get outa’ here but the CDC?” Shane said in a challenging tone “I think that if there’s anywhere we should be headin’ its Fort Benning.”

“Whatever government structure that was still around would’ve made the CDC a priority to protect” Rick replied “I heard they were still going before everything shut down.”

“We all heard a lot o’ things” Daryl added “don’t make any of ‘em true.”

“I still say Fort Benning, it’s a military base so it’ll have weapons and provisions” Shane insisted.

“What about Jim” Rick tried “we have a sick man; if we get him to the CDC they might be able to help.”

“You two ever think that maybe it should be a group decision and not just you arguing” I asked fed up with them bickering like kids.

“Of course it’s a group decision” Rick replied “I’m just saying that the CDC is the logical option.”

“Listen Blondie why don’t you get your girl and the other two from the van and we’ll have a vote on it” Shane said.

“I’ll go Naoms” Kel came over obviously seeing the pissed off look on my face “Shane how about you round up the guys?” And with that he went off to the van.

** Emily’s pov **

After a pretty crappy night’s sleep in the more cramped than usual van since Effy was staying with us, it was time to finish packing up the camp so we can start making our way to the CDC. That’s right we finally came to a decision, Shane wasn’t too happy but he’s come round to the idea since last night.

So here we are collapsing the last tent while everyone else packs away bags and sorts out who’s going where. So far I think Rick, Lori and Carl are joining Carols car, JJ and Cook are taking the jeep with Shane, Freddie, Effy, Katie, Naomi and I are in Kel’s van with him and everyone else is squeezing into the RV, apart from Daryl of course he insisted on taking Merles Motorcycle.

“Ready?” Kel asked as got the last tent pole in its bag.

“Yeah”

We got in the van, Naomi in the driver’s seat since Katie didn’t want to sit in the back so Kel said he would. A quick honk of the horn and our convoy is off with the RV leading followed by Daryl, the car, the Jeep then us taking up the rear. Morales and his family decided to go off on their own to try and find Miranda’s sister, as much as I try and stay positive I can’t help but feel like we’ll never see them again.

Leaving Morales and his family reminds me off Pandora and Thomas. They had to go to Massachusetts to sort out some paperwork for school before they were meant to join us. They were supposed to be on a flight when all this shit started and we couldn’t get a hold of them. No matter how positive I try to be I can’t help the niggling voice in the back of my mind that keeps telling me I’ll never see them again.

Our journey is pretty quiet apart from Freddie and Kel playing snap in the back of the van and the occasional comment from Katie about the magazine she’s reading. I decided to close my eyes for a while. I’m not sure how long I was asleep before I felt the van come to a stop. I opened my eyes rubbing the sleep from them and looking around to see Kel jump out the side door.

“So why have we stopped lezza?” Katie asked Naomi.

“Well Katiekins” Naomi began her voice dripping with sarcasm “everyone else stopped and I thought crashing into the jeep would be a bad idea” she rolled her eyes and got out.

Katie huffed and crossed her arms “was just asking.”

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes as I joined Naomi outside. We walked up front where Dale was explaining he needed some sort of tubing to get the RV going again. Shane, T-Dog and Kel volunteered to take JJ to the gas station up ahead so he could look for the piece they Dale needed. They were gone for a few minutes before Jackie announced that Jim wasn’t doing so well. With a bit of effort so he wasn’t in too much pain, the boys managed to carry him out of the RV and sit him up against a tree. It wasn’t long before Kel, and the others were back and Dale and JJ were fixing the RV but Jim decided to stay.

We got back into the van; Freddie took the driver’s seat this time with Katie and Effy up front. Naomi and I got in the back with Kel, he grabbed one of the duvets he’d folded away behind the driver’s seat and threw it over Naomi and me.

“Go to sleep, I’ll wake you if anything happens” he said with a smile.

So naturally I obliged. Naomi wrapped her arms around me, pulling my head to her chest and wrapped the duvet tighter around me, I fell asleep almost instantly.  


	8. A Chance

** Kel’s pov **

We must’ve been travelling for a good hour when the van slowed to a stop. I leaned over the front seat in between Freddie and Katie to get a better look. It was a fucking mess. Walls of sandbags were knocked over; abandoned tanks and military equipment were strewn across the front of the CDC and piles of charred bodies polluted the air.

I slid the door open, taking out my gun along the way, and immediately had to cover my nose with my hand. The stench was unbelievable. I turned back to the van and grabbed my bag. I pulled out a random t-shirt and ripped it into big enough strips to cover our mouths and noses before tying one around my own face and telling the others to do the same. It looked like the other had the same idea as me as everyone had their faces covered somehow.

We made our way up to the doors, treading carefully so we didn’t trip on any corpses. The place looked deserted and the sun was disappearing. We’d definitely need to go soon to make it out of the city before night fell completely. Rick started banging on the doors.

“There’s no one here man” Shane said while Rick continued to bang on the doors and yell.

“We can’t be this close to the city in the dark” Lori said keeping a tight hold on Carl as Carol did the same to Sophia.

“Come on, back to the cars” Cook told everyone.

We started to usher everyone towards the vehicles when rick stopped and stared at one of the security cameras. Shane went over to him and started talking in his ear.

“It moved I saw it” Rick yelled, walkers were starting to come towards the noise.

Guns were going off, the kids were scared and Rick was still yelling.

“You’re killing us!” he screamed once more before Shane started to drag him off when a pool of light came from the doors.

 

** Emily’s pov **

“Well hurry up then” came a man’s voice.

Not needing to be told twice we all pooled into the entrance of the CDC with Cook and Kel bringing up the rear. The place was huge, I was taking it all in when I turned to find a man with short ginger hair with his gun cocked and pointed at us.

“Anyone infected?” he asked.

“One of our group was” Rick said “he didn’t make it.”

The man looked over our group clearly judging us. His eyes lingered on the looks of fear on the kids’ faces before he opened his mouth to speak again.

“You all submit to a blood test” he said after a minute “that’s the price of admission.”

“We can do that” Rick spoke for everyone and we all nodded out agreement.

The guy lowered his gun “you got stuff to bring in, you go get it now, once this door is closed it stays closed.”

Rick, Shane, T-Dog, Daryl, Cook and Kel wasted no time running out to grab our bags from the vehicles. They returned within minutes with only a few shots fired. The guy spoke into a microphone and told someone called Vi to cut the power up here. I heard the shutters rattle and bang as they came down sealing us in.

“Rick Grimes” Rick introduced himself.

“Dr. Edwin Jenner” the man replied.

We all piled into a large lift, I’m surprised we all fit, I was pressed right against Naomi and Kel had one of his arms around both of us to create some space for Freddie who was pressed into his other side. It was difficult to see with so many bodies in the way but I was sure I saw Katie with her hand in Effy’s. Daryl was talking to Dr Jenner but I wasn’t interested, I just wanted to get some food and go to bed.

The lift stopped and we piled out, some people let out sighs of relief that they could breathe again. Jenner led us through a corridor and into a dark room.

“Vi, bring up the lights in the big room” he said and the place lit up almost immediately.

“Where is everybody?” Rick asked “the doctors the staff?”

“I’m it” Jenner told him “it’s just me.”

“What about who you were talking to before” Lori asked grasping at straws “Vi?”

“Sorry but, Vi is a computer” he told us “it’s just me, now” he began taking us to another room “how about those blood tests, one from each of you.”

We all sat patiently while he took samples from each of us. When he got to JJ he started to ramble about nothing in particular, it’s been difficult for him since we ran out of his medication, some days he’s better off and some days he’s just not good at all. Cook put his hands on either side of JJ’s face and talked to him while Jenner took his blood. When he stood up all of the colour drained form his face and he looked as if he might feint. Luckily Freddie and Cook got a hold of him before that happened and helped him back into a seated position.

“What’s up with him” Jenner asked.

“Hasn’t eaten properly for a couple days” Cook said “none of us ‘ave.”

“I think I can help with that” Jenner said as he finished up with Glenn.

 

** Naomi’s pov **

We were all sat around the table, stuffing our faces, laughing and drinking. Most of us had wine but Cook being Cook managed to find a bottle of tequila. Daryl stole the bottle and poured out some shots telling Glenn to down them.

“Keep drinking little man, I wanna’ see just how red your face can get” everyone laughed until Rick clanged his glass with his fork making everyone turn their attention to him.

“We haven’t thanked our host properly” he said.

“Hear, hear” Dale said.

“Cheers man!” Cook bellowed leading to a chorus of “cheers” and “thanks.”

“So what happened here doc?” Shane asked bringing the mood down “why’s it just you here?”

“Shane we don’t need to do this now” Rick warned.

“Hold up” Shane continued “this is why we’re here ain’t it, supposed to be finding answers but instead we find him.”

“A lot of people left” he sighed “went off to be with their families and when it got really bad, like when the military got overrun, the rest bolted.”

“Every last one?” Shane asked.

“No” Jenner said “a lot of them couldn’t face walking out the front door, so they opted out.”

“And you didn’t leave?” Andrea asked “Why?”

“I just kept working, hoping to do some good” he shrugged.

“Dude you are such a buzzkill” Glenn sighed finishing his drink.

Emily laced her fingers through mine and I took that as the cue to go to bed. We said our goodnights and went off to find somewhere to sleep along with almost everyone else. Since there were a lot of us it wasn’t possible to find a place for just the two of us so we shared with Effy and Katie, sleeping on opposite ends of the room. I rolled out the sleeping bags and zipped them together so would could fit in the same one while Emily got changed. We said our goodnights to Effy and Katie before curling up together in our makeshift bed, she gave me a quick loving kiss before nestling into my neck and falling asleep, I looked at her and smiled before following her into slumber.


	9. There's Always Hope

** Kel’s pov **

I woke up next to Cook while he snored his head off. I looked around the room seeing three empty sleeping bags where Freddie, JJ and Glenn should have been. The five of us took one of the bigger rooms and decided to just share. I got up as quietly as possible trying not to wake Cook and made my way to the kitchen.

Everyone was already up apart from Shane, Rick, Emily and Naomi. JJ and T-Dog were in the kitchen cooking and it smelt amazing. I was greeted by a series of “morning” and a few groans, Glenn definitely looked worse for wear with his head in his arms on the table, poor guy, with both Daryl and Cook feeding him alcohol half the night I’m not surprised he felt like crap. I sat down and Carol poured me some coffee I thanked her and pretty much gulped it down, let me tell you coffee made by campfire is alright but it’s got nothing on this. Rick walked in and took a seat beside Carl looking rough but nowhere near as bad as Glenn.

“Are you hung-over?” Carl asked “mom said you’d be.”

“Mom” Rick said pouring himself some orange juice “is right.”

I laughed as I moved to refill my coffee.

“Yeah, mom has that annoying habit” Lori laughed.

“So what’s on the menu boys” Naomi asked as she came and sat beside me.

“Eggs” T-Dog said “powdered, but I do ‘em good” he laughed as he started to plate some up.

“No Emily?” I asked Naomi as she helped herself to juice.

“She’s in the shower” she replied, I shook my head at her and stood up to go get some eggs.

“Want some Glenn?” I asked as I moved past him.

“No” he groaned “don’t ever let me drink again.”

I gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder and got a plate of eggs and toast for him anyway, I put the plate in front of him before grabbing my own and returning to my seat. He looked up and gave me a look that said “ugh, do I have to?”

“Eat it’ll help” I said tucking into my own.

He groaned again “yes mom.”

“Hey” Shane said as he entered the room, I said hey back before continuing to shove eggs in my mouth.

“Feel as bad as I do?” Rick asked Shane.

“Worse” he responded.

“What the hell happened to you?” Emily asked as she plonked herself down on Naomi’s lap.

I lifted my head up to see that Shane had scratches down his face and neck.

“I must’ve done it in my sleep” he said sipping his coffee.

“Not seen you do that before” Rick said shaking his head.

“Me neither” Shane said, for a moment I thought I saw him shoot a glare at Lori, “not like me at all.”

Jenner came in and Cook wasn’t far behind him.

“Morning” Jenner said to everyone.

“Morning doc” I answered finishing the last of my eggs.

“Alright everyone” Cook called as he sat down “wow, you look shit mate” he told Glenn who groaned in response.

“Doctor” Dale started “I don’t mean to bombard you with questions first thing…”

“But you will anyway” Jenner interjected.

“We didn’t come here for the eggs” Andrea said.

Jenner sighed and nodded his head before getting up and telling us to follow him through into the big room. I went to follow but stayed back when Cook tapped my shoulder tilted his head towards the kitchen counter. I moved over and waited until everyone was gone before asking him what was up.

“I got a bad feeling about this” he a hint of worry in his voice.

“Why?”

“The way he speaks to us, the look in his eyes” he shook his head “something’s not right.”

“What do you think it is though?”

“Dunno’” he shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck “could just be ‘im bein’ on his own for ages, could be something else but all I know is something don’t feel right.”

 “We’ll keep a close eye on him then” Cook nodded his agreement.

We made our way to the big room where everyone was staring a giant screen. The image showed what looked like a human brain and was zooming in on it. Cook and I moved to stand beside JJ.

“What are those lights?” Shane asked.

“It’s a person’s life” Jenner said “experiences and memories. Amongst all those ripples of light is you. The thing that makes you human. What makes you unique.”

  “So what’s this?” Rick asked “A vigil?”

“yes” Jenner nodded “or rather a playback.”

“This person died” Andrea asked moving forward slightly “Who?”

“Test subject nineteen” Jenner stated “someone who was bitten and infected. They volunteered…” his voice cracked a little “…to have us record the process, Vi scan forward to the first event.”

Vi did just that. It was the same brain on screen, except it was darker with some sort of red vein through it. Even if Jenner hadn’t said that it was the virus and it spread like meningitis it was pretty obvious that what was happening to that brain on the screen was what had happened to every one of the walkers out there. That’s what happened to Jim. What could’ve happened to my parents, to Thomas, Panda and the families of everyone else in this room. What, at some point, will probably happen to me.

“Is that what happened to Jim” Sophia asked her mother.

Carol nodded solemnly “yes.”

I could see Katie holding tight onto Emily and Freddie had his eyes staring firmly at the floor. Jenner gave them a confused look.

“They’re families are back in England” Lori explained “we haven’t been able to contact them since this happened.”

“I lost somebody” Jenner said, his voice low “I know how devastating it is.”

I threw my arm around Freddie’s shoulders and he leaned his head on my shoulder. It was pretty bad for Naomi, JJ and me not knowing if our parents were safe but I couldn’t imagine how hard it was for Emily, Katie not knowing if their brother was alive or Freddie not knowing about his sister.

“Scan to second event” Jenner called “the resurrection times vary wildly” he told us “we had reports come in as anything from three minutes to eight hours.”

I kept my eyes glued to the screen as a red glow began at the brain stem.

“It restarts the brain?” Lori asked.

“No, just the stem” Jenner corrected “it basically gets them up and moving, as you can see the rest of the brain is dark, the lights have gone out, the things that once made them human no longer exist” he told us “now it’s just a shell driven by mindless instinct.”

Suddenly a dark slash appeared across the screen leaving a line right through the patients head.

“He shot his patient” Effy announced.

“You don’t know what it is, do you?” Andrea asked.

Jenner got quiet. Bloody fantastic, here’s the only guy alive in this building and he chooses to go all quiet on us. I was brought out of my thoughts by Dale.

“Doctor Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you” Dale said “but I have one more question, that clock” he pointed to the wall “it’s counting down, what happens at zero?”

“The basement generators” he said looking as nervous as I felt hearing his words “they run out of fuel.”

“What then?” Rick asked desperately but Jenner just sat there “Vi, what happens when the power runs out” he called.

Suddenly Vi’s voice filled the room. “When the power runs out facility wide decontamination will occur.”

….. Shit

 

** Emily’s pov **

“What exactly does that mean?” Rick asked.

“Think about the kind of stuff they keep in this place” Kel said, I could feel my heart sink at his words.

“You mean…” Naomi started.

“… This place is going to blow the fuck up” Kel started pacing.

“It was the French” Jenner said, everyone looked at him like he was mad.

“What” Amy asked her voice portraying the confusion I’m sure we all felt.

“The last ones to hold out as far as I know” Jenner answered.

Shane looked pissed as he moved toward Jenner “let me tell you…” he started but Rick cut him off.

“Stop, I don’t care” Rick turned to the group “everyone grab your things, we’re leaving.”

“Alright you heard Rick” Shane went into copper mode “get moving now.”

I made for the door when it slid shut and locked.

“Did you just lock us in” Glenn asked freaking out.

“He just locked us in” JJ confirmed “oh bobbins” he started muttering to himself before Freddie took a hold of his shoulders and calmed him down.

“Son of a bitch” Daryl yelled “bastard locked us in” it took, Cook, T-Dog and Shane to hold him back from beating Jenner.

“Jenner” Rick growled “open the doors.”

“No point” Jenner shrugged “the topside is sealed, the computers control it all” he turned to look at him in the eyes “I told you that once the door closed it wouldn’t open again.”

“It’s better this way” Jenner said quietly, probably more to himself than any of us.

“How is this better than anything” Kel yelled at him.

“There’s no hope” Jenner said flatly.

“There’s always hope” Rick spat “Maybe not you and not here but somebody, somewhere.”

“Everything’s gone, everything’s gone…” JJ kept repeating to himself.

“Listen to your friend” Jenner said.

“This isn’t right” Carol said through tears as she held Sophia tightly “you can’t keep us here.”

“Wouldn’t it be more compassionate to just hold your loved ones and wait for the timer to run out” Jenner answered.

“What would be more compassionate…” Kel began as he grabbed the front of Jenner’s lab coat “would be having the option…”

Rick and Freddie tried to pull him off Jenner.

“I don’t want to see the people I love die in this room when that isn’t what they want” he let go and let Freddie hold him back.

“I think you’re lying about there being no hope” Rick said in a last attempt to reason with him “if there wasn’t why would you still be here.”

“I made a promise” Jenner said sadly “to Emily” everyone looked at me, I furrowed my brow in confusion before Jenner continued “Doctor Emilia Jenner, my wife, she was brilliant, she would have figured this out.”

I walked over to him and put my hand on his shoulder “please let us die our own way” I pleaded “all we want is the choice” tears started falling from my eyes before I could help it “please.”

He sighed and pressed a few buttons opening the doors “topside is still locked down, nothing I can do about it” he said.

“Thank you” I whispered as I hugged him before running back to Naomi’s side.

“Let’s go go go” Shane called as everyone ran through the doors.

“What you doing?” T-Dog asked as Jackie sat down.

“It’s my choice baby” Jackie answered “please, just let me be.”

T-Dog shook his head and sat beside her “well, then you ain’t going without me” he smiled sadly.

“Go girls” Jackie called to us but I was frozen watching Kel, Cook and Freddie fighting with JJ.

“Jay c’mon man” Cook said tears welling up in his eyes “you gotta’ come Jaykins.”

Kel turned around to look at us, he whispered something to Cook and Freddie. I quickly realised what he was doing when Cook picked me up and started to run down the halls with me. Naomi and Freddie were right behind us when I heard an explosion from not far in front of us. There was a massive gap in the glass at the front of the building and everyone was rushing through and towards the vehicles for protection. But Kel and JJ were still in there. I didn’t even realise I was doing it, I didn’t think it was my voice until we were lying on the pavement beside the van and Naomi wrapped her arms around me. I was yelling Kel’s name and sobbing. He can’t die. Why has he always got to be so considerate why couldn’t he have just got Cook to pick up JJ instead of me.

 I managed to stop crying long enough to see what looked like two people jump over a wall of sandbags as the building exploded and the entire site was covered in flaming debris. I looked around and could see everyone was okay but no Jackie, no T-dog, no JJ, and no Kel. Or so I thought, I chanced a look towards the flaming ruins of the CDC. Kel was laying on the ground behind the sandbag wall he jumper over, his body was curled protectively around a shaking JJ. I just stared at them. He’s alive…. I hope he’s alive… If he isn’t I don’t know what I’ll do, and if he is… Well… I’m going to fucking kill him.


End file.
